Sharpener for carpenter pencils



y 1961 H. s. HERQBOLD I 2,982,253

SHARPENER FOR CARPENTER PENCILS Filed Aug. 3, 1959 /5' I I4 I? a INVENTOR I HARRY S. HERBOLD ATTORNEY This invention relates to pencil sharpeners and more particularly to a device for sharpening the so called square pencils commonly used by carpenters and mechanics.

The object of the invention is to provide a simple and inexpensive device which may be carried in a pocket of work clothing or in a tool box, and by which all four sides of a carpenter pencil may be simultaneously cut by reciprocating the end of the pencil in the device while it is held in one hand.

With the above and other objects andadvantages in view, the invention resides in the novel combinations and .arrangements of parts andthe novel features of construction hereinafter described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings which show the present preferred embodiment of the invention.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a top view of the device on an enlarged scale;

Fig. Zis an end view;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section on line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a longitudinalsection taken in a plane at right angles to that of Fig. 3; and n Fig. 5 is a transverse section on line 5--5 in Fig. 1.

The sharpener comprises an elongated body molded in one piece of plastic material such as phenolic resin or one of the modern plastic materials, four flat resilient metal cutting blades and screws, rivets or similiar fastenings for mounting the blades on the body. The latter is preferably of generally rectangular shape and is small so that -it may be carried in a pocket of a carpenters work garment or in a tool box. The rectangular shape permits it to be efiectively grasped and held in one hand when the device is being used. Formed centrally in the body is a longitudinal opening or chamber 11 of rectangular shape in cross section and of a size only slightly larger than the cross section of the pencil. Thus the chamber has two wide sides and two narrow sides. To facilitate the insertion of the pencil, the front or outer end of the chamber is enlarged by outwardly flaring its four walls as shown at 12s At the rear of inner end of the body the chamber 11 is closed by an end wall 13 which serves as a stop to limit the insertion of the pencil.

Formed in the intermediate portion of the body 10 are two transversely extending openings which are at right angles to each other and intersect the chamber at a point spaced from the wall 13. These openings are short lengthwise of the device but their outer portions are enlarged as shown particularly in Figs. 3 and 4. The opening 14 through the wider faces of the body has a width corresponding to the wide sides of the chamber 1'1 and associated with this opening is a pair of wide cutting blades 15 which extend into the chamber and cut the wider sides of the pencil. The opening 16 through the narrow sides of the body has a width corresponding to the narrow side of the pencil and associated with this opening 16 is a pair of shorter and narrower cutting blades 17 which extend into thechamber and cut the narrow sides of the pencil. The rear end wall 18 of the opening 14 is 1 Patented May 2, 1961 perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the body, but

due to the enlarging of the outer portionsof that opening, the-front end walls 19 are inclined inwardly to provide seats for the blades 15, as seen in Fig. 3. These wider blades are fastened on the seats 19 by screws, rivets or other fasteners 20 and their front edges abut shoulders 21 formed on the seats. The opposed flat blades 15 are of rectangular shape and are disposed in rearwardly converging relation so that their sharp cutting edges 22 almost touch each other. Thus these blades not only remove some of the wood of the pencil but also sharpen the lead to a flat pointed or chisel-like marking edge.

The other pair of blades 17 simply cut the wood of the pencil down to the lead and do not materially cut into the lead. These blades 17 have their cutting edges 23 disposed between the blades 15 and spaced forwardly from the cutting edges 22, as seen in Fig. 4. The blades 17 are also of flat rectangular shape disposed in rearwardly converging relation with their front or outer portions secured by suitable fastenings 24 on the inclined seats 25 formed by enlarging the outer portions of the transverse opening 16 in the body. The seats 25 are also formed with shoulders 26 against which the forward edges of the blades 17 abut.

- In using the device the pencil is inserted in the open front end of the body of the desired extent and the pencil and body are relatively reciprocated. The flexible blades will yield outwardly on the inward movement of the pencil and will sharpen the latter on the outward stroke of the pencil, the shavings falling out of the openings 14 and 16. The blades 17 will merely cut the wood down to the lead of the pencil but the blades 15 will also sharpen the lead to a flat pointed marking edge.

From the foregoing, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, it will be seen that novel and advantageous provision has been made for carrying out the objects of the invention, and while preferences have been disclosed, attention is invited to the possibility of making variations within the scope of the invention as claimed.

I claim: l

1. A sharpener for a carpenter pencil comprising an elongated body to be held in the hand and of generally rectangular shape in cross section, said body being molded in one piece of plastic material and having two opposed wide sides and two opposed narrow sides, a central lonlgitudinal chamber which opens through the front end of the body and is of a; size and shape to slidably reends of said openings being enlarged and having inwardly and rearwardly inclined seats adjacent the forward portion of the body, a pair of wide cutting blades fastened on said seats at said wide sides of the body and extending into the chamber, and a pair of narrow cutting blades fastened on said seats at said narrow sides of the body and extending into the chamber.

2. The structure of claim 1 in which the cutting edges of said wide cutting blades are positioned to sharpen the wide sides of the lead of the pencil and in which said narrow cutting blades are longitudinally oil-set in a forward direction from said Wide cutting blades with the cutting edges of the narrow blade disposed between the wide blades and positioned'to cut the wood of the pencil down to the narrow sides of the lead of the pencil.

3. A sharpener for a carpenter pencil comprising an elongated body having a longitudinally extending pencil receiving chamber which opens through the front end of the body, said chamber being of rectangular shape in cross section and of a size slightly larger than the cross section of thepencil, said chamber having opposed wide sides and opposed narrow sides, two transverse openings extending through the intermediate portion of the body in directions at right angles to each other, one of said openings being wide and intersecting the Wide sides of said chamber, the other of said openings being narrow 5 and intersecting the narrow sides of said chamber, the forward ends of said openings having inwardly and rear- Wardly inclined seats, said seats of the opening intersecting the wide sides of the chamber being disposed rear:

Wardly of said seats of the opening intersecting the nar- 1 row sides of the chamber, two pairs of opposed fiat cutting blades fixed to said seats with their cutting edges extending into the chamber, the pair of blades fixed to said 'rearwardly disposed seats at the wide sides of the References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 716,732 Mead Dec. 23, 1902 FOREIGN PATENTS 8,840 Great Britain Mar. 26, 1892 or. f 4. 

